


Runaways Running the Night

by treefrogie84



Series: Take the love that I've embraced [6]
Category: Supernatural, Wayward Sisters - Fandom
Genre: Asexual Patience Turner, Demisexual Kaia Nieves, Established Relationship, Excessive Drinking, F/F, Lesbian Claire Novak, Tarot, Token Straight Alex Jones, non-graphic barfing, puke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-12 15:12:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19231651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treefrogie84/pseuds/treefrogie84
Summary: Alex is turning 21 and just wants something *normal* for a change. Normal like the state fair.





	Runaways Running the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to [Dorkily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/custodian/pseuds/dorkilysoulless) who went above and beyond for the tarot bits. I asked for a book, he just did the interpretation for me.  
> The tarot deck in question is real and available for purchase. You should totally go buy it.

The carnival whirls around them, hundreds of people wandering from ride to ride, more than half of them drunk. Alex tows Patience towards the swing carnival ahead of them while Claire and Kaia follow gamely.

“This is what she wanted to do for her twenty-first?” Kaia says quietly, watching Alex wobble slightly, waving her plastic cup full of… something sickly sweet and alcoholic, at the ride operator. “Go to the state fair?”

They can see Patience roll her eyes from here, grabbing the cup and dumping it in the trash.

“You know Alex, always wanting to pretend that we’re normal.” Claire waves in acknowledgment of Patience’s impatient gesture.

“This… isn’t normal,” Kaia says doubtfully. “I think. Shouldn’t we be at some bar with tiaras or something for that?”

“Hell if I know. Nothing else we do is normal, why should this be?” Claire shrugs. “Let’s see… I was shitfaced and trying to find a way to get you back. You were--”

“High, probably,” Kaia says flatly. “That was right around when the dreamwalking started happening. Derek said try not to sleep so I… did.”

“And Patience has another couple of years. So yeah, no idea what normal is.” Slipping her hand into Kaia’s, Claire tugs her close and kisses her. “But I don’t want normal, so I’m cool with it.”

Someone mutters something rude-- Claire doesn’t catch it, but Kaia stiffens and steps away-- and the crowd parts around them. Tightening her hold on Kaia’s hand, she drags her towards the giant swing set. “C’mon. One more ride, then we’ll force Alex to stay on the ground if she’s going to drink more.”

“Like you’ve not been drinking as well.” Kaia raises an eyebrow as they find a set of swings a few rows ahead of Patience and Alex. “Are you going to be okay with this?”

“Beer, and I have more practice,” Claire says smugly. “Also, I want to hold my girlfriend’s hand without dicks being assholes.”

Kaia pushes her hair back and smiles shyly before extending her hand. They stay joined until the ride starts, swinging apart as they pick up speed.

Breathing out, Claire lets the summer wind grab hold of her hair, draining the stress and worry from her while they spin. It’s not as perfect as a roller coaster, but they’re also a long way from the amusement parks of her childhood, and she just can’t bring herself to have the same confidence in something from the back of a truck.

Gradually, they slow back down, dropping to perpendicular as the central column collapses back down, and she and Kaia retangle their fingers.

Alex looks wretched when they meet up at the exit.

“Gonna be okay?” Claire asks cheerfully. “Or do you want to go again?”

Alex glares. “Water and… not food, but sitting? Please?”

Patience points towards what looks like a mostly abandoned beer garden a little bit further down. “I’ll grab us _all_ some water, you guys are on babysitting duty.”

Claire doesn’t think that’s quite fair, but whatever. Patience has been really… patient for someone who is way too sober to be dealing with her drunk almost-sister. “C’mon, drunkie. Let’s get you some place quiet.”

Kaia leads the way, drifting through the crowds with grace, almost dancing. She’s so much more graceful than Claire, quick and lithe instead of Claire’s bar brawls.

It’s not a beer garden. At the back of the space is a tiny tent, big enough for two, maybe three people, and not a whole lot else. White canvas is decorated with symbols from across the globe in a rainbow of colors, but nothing supernatural. Nothing that makes Claire think this isn’t what it seems.

The sandwich board out front-- between the picnic table and the tent-- proclaims it to be the tent of Madame Lustra, offering palm readings for ten dollars or tarot for fifteen in plain blue script above a haphazardly drawn crystal ball.

All in all, it looks like someone’s fantasy interpretation of a fortune teller’s tent from a bygone era.

Someone, presumably Madame Lustra, appears as they’re getting settled, emerging from the tent with a cup of something steaming-- tea, Claire thinks, although she wouldn’t bet on it right now. Her outfit isn’t the racist claptrap Claire half expects, but creamy yellow with blue embroidery around the neckline and waist. Even in the shadows, something about it seems like it doesn’t belong in South Dakota. “So this is who’s been pricking at me all evening,” she says lowly. Claire isn’t sure she’s supposed to hear her. “Except…” she trails off, looking around. “There’s a fourth?”

Claire slides her hand to the knife hiding at the small of her back, trying to make it look casual. It’s impossible to get a good look at her eyes, or anything else, in the shift lights of the games on either side of them. Claire tries not to let the tension show, feeling it echoed in Kaia’s thigh where it’s pressed against hers, in Alex’s hand as it grabs the table, fingers going tight. “She’s none of your concern.”

“I mean you no harm,” Lustra says. “Although, I don’t blame you for not believing me.” Easily, she sweeps her skirt to the side, setting her tea on the table and sitting at the other end. “Relax your guard, mama bear. Your charges are safe enough.”

“Believe or not, I’ve heard that before,” Claire growls, standing up and moving to that end of the table, between Lustra and Alex. Kaia can take care of herself, Alex is way too drunk. “Generally shortly before something tries to kill us.”

“Claire?” Patience calls, clattering the water bottles on the table. “Everything okay? Stop threatening people.”

The wariness runs out of Lustra’s shoulders, only visible in its absence. “Here she is. Returned triumphant, having conquered the food concourse.”

A water bottle rolls down the table, coming to a stop at Claire’s hand. “Claire, sit down, drink the water,” Patience orders. “I’m sure we’re safe enough.”

Lustra nods, sipping at her tea. “I merely wanted to offer you a reading. All of you. Nothing else.”

“Why us?” Kaia asks quietly. “Out of the thousands of people here today, why us?”

Lustra shrugs. It’s not clear if she can’t answer the question or won’t, but…

Claire isn’t getting the idea that she’s any more dangerous than any other two-bit fraud with some skill at cold reading. “Kaia? Patience?”

Alex drains her water and pushes, unsteadily, to her feet. “Me. I don’t even know--” Her face contorts briefly before she darts to the nearby trash can.

Kaia follows her, lifting her hair out of the way, and laying her water bottle against Alex’s neck. “You and Patience go ahead,” she says, wincing at a particularly loud retch. “I think Alex and I will be here for a while.”

Grimacing, Claire nods and gestures towards the tent. “After you then.”

Lustra folds back the door panel, shedding a bit more light into the dim tent. It really is as small inside as it looked, with a cardtable set up in the center of the tent and barely enough room around the edges for the chairs. Lustra drags a third chair out of hiding, and pops it open next to the table.

“Who’s first?”

Claire exchanges a glance with Patience before pulling a chair away from the table and taking a seat.

Lustra nods, pulling a pouch from somewhere and carefully setting[ the cards ](https://topatoco.com/collections/wtnv/products/cpb-wtnv-tarotdeck)on the table. “We’re doing a simple reading-- past, present, future-- so you don’t need to think about a question. Just relax and pick three cards.”

Relaxation is a joke, but Claire can pretend. She picks three cards at random, laying them out face down in front of her, familiar enough with the standard procedure after watching Patience try divination a few times.

Lustra flips them over one at a time, hmm’ing after each card. The faces don’t look like any set Claire’s ever seen, four styrofoam cups tumbling down from the sun; six rabbits with their fur combed into pentacles on a green field; ten red-hooded figures with-- “Are those _intestines_?”

“Hm? Oh, the ten of pentacles? Soft meat crowns. So, probably.”

“Since when did tarot involve soft meat crowns?”

“Since I picked up a specific deck for hunters,” Lustra shoots back. “The standard imagery didn’t work for hunters-- not gory or uncanny enough.” She pauses, takes a sip of her tea before nodding. “Ok. So, your past,” she taps the [four of cups](https://66.media.tumblr.com/80213f28fe2459ed13d1b1628486ffff/tumblr_npws2npjEK1qh2xlho1_500.png). “Cups are nourishment or relationships. So, in the past… things were disrupted and uncomfortable-- all the cups are up in the air, spilling their contents, right?-- but there gravity is disrupted too, so the nature of it leaves behind your capacity for wonder and beauty.”

Claire bites her lip-- the year Dad didn’t come home, because someone else was wearing his skin and then when he did come back, he didn’t stay… “Yeah. Something like that. The wonder anyway.”

“Angels are real, after all,” Patience says quietly. “Can’t say there’s a lot of beauty in what you do though.”

Claire shrugs. There’s something beautiful in a well honed knife, in returning a little girl to her mom, in risking her life to save a civilian.

“Right.” Lustra sets aside the card and picks up the next one. “Your present: [six of pentacles](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d0cee12ac617bdd8c6e9b08b02a86820/tumblr_niwpt3GHyk1qh2xlho1_500.png). Everything is orderly and in place, but uncanny. Things are going so well, you’re fearful of when the other shoe is going to drop. Other shoes, hell, the entire damn closet.” Lustra snorts. “A hunter fearful of the present far more than the future. You are definitely in the right line of work, love.”

Claire makes a face, ignoring the twitch in her gut that agrees. Everything is going good, but making sure she’s prepared for anything is just planning ahead-- eventually, something is going to go wrong and she needs to be ready.

“[Your future though](https://66.media.tumblr.com/44ef9789995453cecb7e9f2d25ea09c3/tumblr_na5ah3Mtta1qh2xlho1_500.jpg),” Lustra frowns, tapping the card with a long finger nail while she thinks. “Your group-- however you define it-- is orderly and balanced, understanding each other and working together. Honestly, despite how ominous this card looks? It’s pretty content. You’ll still have to work at it, of course. It’s not going to happen on it’s own, but… let people find their own balance in the group.”

Claire huffs, looking at the cards again. Lustra’s right, she is more comfortable with these than with the standard sets she’s always seen before. They don’t shy away from the death and blood that saturates her life. Pushing away from the table, she steps out of the way so Patience can have her turn.

Patience goes a bit quicker-- she’s far more comfortable with tarot, and knows the basics a lot better than Claire does.

“Reversed [King of cups](https://66.media.tumblr.com/be1aaae5ebe14ac02a6a0ffabd0f7edf/tumblr_nk5absv6QZ1qh2xlho1_500.png), [Knight of swords](https://66.media.tumblr.com/9b959ca1ec3da504716c1799805c1f27/tumblr_npwx50gpLx1qh2xlho1_500.png), and [Judgment](https://66.media.tumblr.com/7f9a91ead25d413d1b8c8e2ff58633a1/tumblr_n1tx0kxwU01qh2xlho1_500.jpg),” Lustra recites. “Well now. Isn’t that interesting.”

“Not really,” Patience says sharply. “How many broken teenagers do you have in here after all.”

“That are also hunters? Not many, but some.”

“Most of them were broken teenagers, and are now broken adults.”

“You’re not broken,” Claire says stridently. “You’re not. Where the fuck is this even coming from?”

Patience snorts, pointing to each card in turn. “A strong influence who should have been nurturing and supportive that instead picked at my faults until they bled, left the relationship broken and sick. The village is going to burn down everything. Everything is going to go great until something blows it all to smithereens.”

“Swords are also creation, Patience.” Lustra pushes the Knight forward. “Look at it closer-- they’re working together and passionate about their project. You need to exercise caution, certainly, lest things go too far, but this isn’t the village burning itself down out of the joy in destruction.

“Judgement is tricky. It’s the end of something yes, but what’s crashing could just as easily be a flare searching for help. Your future is going to have a moment that redefines the possibilities and you’ll need to make decisions based on the new layout of your options at that time.”

“If this is about not going to Cornell or whatever?” Claire asks bluntly. “I thought you found the program you wanted.”

“No, it’s not about college, Claire, God.” Patience shoves her hair out of her face. “Leave it, I don’t want to talk about it. Can we go now?”

“Sure…” Claire says slowly. She digs out her wallet and shoves a twenty in the discreet tip jar next to the entrance. “I think Kaia wanted to get in on this though.”

“Fine, whatever.” Patience pushes past her and into the darkness beyond.

“Give her some time,” Lustra says quietly, reshuffling the deck. “Her choices aren’t your choices to make.”

“Right. Let everyone find their own balance.” Claire snorts. “Thanks anyway, I guess.”

Alex is in no way sober yet, but she’s a lot closer than she was when they went into the tent. She brightens up when they emerge, glancing into the tent eagerly. “Our turn?”

“Absolutely,” Lustra cuts off Claire’s response. “Come on in, we’ll see what the cards have in store for you.”

Claire catches Kaia’s arm as she passes, pulling her into a brief kiss, before murmuring, “I think she’s legit. Be careful.”

Kaia nods tightly before heading inside.

The clattering of the games on either side of them effectively covers up any chance of hearing what Lustra is telling Alex and Kaia. It feels like it takes a long time, but Claire doesn’t think it’s more than twenty minutes before they reemerge. Alex looks happy enough-- downright joyful for someone who was puking less than an hour ago-- but Kaia…

“What’s wrong?” Claire blurts out before she can stop herself. “K?”

Kaia swallows and shakes her head. “Not right now. I… just not right now.”

Shaken, Claire holds out her hand, barely able to stop the sigh of relief when Kaia takes it without hesitation, linking their fingers and pulling Claire close. “Want me to punch her? I can do that.”

“Don’t get arrested on my behalf. You don’t want Jody mad at you.”

Claire shrugs. “Jody’s always mad at me for something or another. I don’t think we know how to interact any other way.”

Nodding, Kaia straightens up before saying, louder, “You guys ready to go home? I’m tired.”

Patience and Alex nod, snatching the water bottles off the table.

“Let’s go,” Patience orders. “And never go to a fortune teller again.”

“Agreed,” Kaia says roughly. “A shower and bed.”

“As ordered.” Claire turns on her heel and leads the way back to the car, away from too bright lights and possible psychics.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're curious:  
> Alex's reading: [queen of pentacles](https://66.media.tumblr.com/4b56bd267b88ac045f7e3abca4eb6071/tumblr_npwmvqGAFZ1qh2xlho1_500.png), [king of swords](https://66.media.tumblr.com/ce8980297ff873b4967a4031d00f67ca/tumblr_niwqoupu9k1qh2xlho1_500.png), [the magician](https://66.media.tumblr.com/fbb5b77810f7740290d79b82e454f31e/tumblr_nbigymFqQJ1qh2xlho1_500.jpg). Her past has been intense and visceral, gruesome and joyful in turns, blood and the life/death balance. Present: there are authoritarian and antagonistic lawful forces as part of the current violence. (AN: Ya don't say?). Future: Mastery of circumstances and picking the correct tool for the job; coming into her own to either master goals or choosing things that are more right/important to go after.  
> Kaia: [3 of Pentacles](https://66.media.tumblr.com/9bbefbe6eefe91b1547bf633e7debb78/tumblr_niwpg60XCh1qh2xlho1_500.png), [5 of Wands](https://66.media.tumblr.com/4e5190b3d0141bb5aff9cdce76e0030f/tumblr_npwuaaJuDy1qh2xlho1_r1_500.png), and [King of Wands, reversed. Past: what you wanted out of your journey was joyful, and got you through some grim bullshit. Present: Wands are art/skill, there is union and conflict in the same moment, acting as a dynamic catalyst. Future: There's an intense period of warped self-image coming that disrupts the mastery of your art, it's hard to make yourself who you needed to be.](https://66.media.tumblr.com/bbfcdf971e4cdf37d53415321c11219d/tumblr_ne7yk9EixI1qh2xlho1_500.jpg)


End file.
